First Fridays – Objects of Desire – February 7, 2014

February 7, 2014 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

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First Fridays Series, Objects of Desire

Whether the desire to possess a rare book, a longing for a home to call one’s own, or the pursuit of an organization’s mission, the Archives and Special Collections of the University of Minnesota Libraries brings the stories to life in this year’s First Fridays presentations.

All events at 12 p.m., 120 Elmer L. Andersen Library. Light refreshments will be served. Free and open to the public. Join us for two presentations on February 7.

1) ‘Library Gets 17-Century Prize after 18-Year Quest!’

The story of the long sought-after “Relation de la Nouvelle France.” Written by the French Jesuit priest Pierre Biard to describe the social life and customs of Indians of North America, the volume was located in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris by an Italian book dealer who brought it to Minnesota via Switzerland. Presented by staff of the James Ford Bell Library.

2) The Epitome of Perfection: Uncovering the Body to Expose Truth

Published in 1543, Andreas Vesalius’ Epitomewas a benchmark of Renaissance anatomical science and illustration. Conceived of as an interactive model of the human body, the German edition of Epitome was a vernacular guide to his seminal work De humani corporis fabrica (On the Fabric of the Human Body). Pursued for decades, and one of 16 known copies, this fragile and desirable edition survived nearly 500 years and offers a firsthand glimpse of creative impulses and transformational ideas. Presented by Lois Hendrickson, Interim Curator, Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine.